HARTFORD — Twenty years after it was first envisioned, the University of Connecticut’s new downtown campus gives the state’s capital new stature as a college town and provides the city the biggest economic boost in more than a decade.

UConn will hold a grand opening Wednesday morning, with ceremonies beginning at 10:30 at the former Hartford Times building. On Monday, the first of 2,300 undergraduate and graduate students will start classes on a campus spread out over five buildings.

The $140 million campus is the largest redevelopment project in the city’s central business district since the convention center opened in 2005. And, it could be even more influential in building the consistent vibrancy that has eluded downtown for years.

The campus, on Front Street, is expected to capitalize on UConn’s nationally known brand, well-honed by its high-profile men’s and women’s basketball programs.

The centerpiece is the Times property, which has morphed from a decaying ruin into a state-of-the-art academic building designed by the firm founded by noted Yale architect Robert A.M. Stern.

Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin said the city already hosts a significant number of colleges and universities, yet it is not thought of as a college town the same way as New Haven or Providence.

“One of the things over the long term that I’d really like to do is to try to bring all of those educational institutions to a place where they are playing a more central role in our economic development efforts and in our efforts to make the city vibrant and lively,” Bronin said. “UConn’s move is a very significant step in that direction.”

The campus won’t add sorely needed tax revenue to a city teetering on the brink of bankruptcy because it remains under state ownership. And, at least initially, it is expected to alter commuting and parking habits in the downtown area.

Image from video tour of UConn campus produced by the university. Used by permission.

The atrium of the renovated Hartford Times building rises three stories and is the main academic building of the new, $140 million downtown Hartford campus of the University of Connecticut.

The atrium of the renovated Hartford Times building rises three stories and is the main academic building of the new, $140 million downtown Hartford campus of the University of Connecticut. (Image from video tour of UConn campus produced by the university. Used by permission.)

But its supporters see the campus as a key building block in weaving the urban fabric of the city. The campus, they say, will stitch the now isolated Front Street and its restaurants, entertainment venues and apartments together with Main Street and the rest of downtown.

UConn President Susan Herbst said the campus was intentionally designed with multiple buildings so students would be encouraged to get outside and explore the neighborhood.

“It’s not NYU,” Herbst said. “We’re far from that, but that’s the road that we want to be on. The kind of decisions that we are making are the kind that you would make on a great urban campus like that.”

It’s not NYU. We’re far from that, but that’s the road that we want to be on.— Susan Herbst, President, University of Connecticut

While merchants savor the prospect of an influx of students, urban planners temper their enthusiasm for just how much the students will spend.

“At the end of the day, students aren’t the largest consumer category, so their purchasing power is limited, for coffees, lunches, that kind of stuff,” said Donald J. Poland, managing director of urban planning at the commercial real estate service firm Goman + York in East Hartford. “But they will generate some activity.”

The bigger benefit, Poland said, is the addition of more people downtown. And even though the campus is essentially a commuter school, Poland said students will probably spend time there outside of classes.

“If you are now downtown regularly, and you are familiar with it and you’re out and about and you see these different places, I think the likelihood of you (a) sticking around afterward and (b) coming back in to do things increases, so that familiarity plays a role,” Poland said.

Access to Downtown

Five years ago, UConn announced that it would move a regional campus — in West Hartford since 1970 — back to Hartford where it was first established in 1939. It was not worth spending $25 million for renovations at the aging West Hartford campus, UConn said.

The idea of reestablishing a campus in downtown Hartford first gained backing in the 1990s as part of “UConn 2000.” But those plans were shelved in favor of moving another regional campus to downtown Stamford, and there was resistance from faculty and staff in West Hartford to a relocation into the city.

After its announcement in 2012, the university had hoped to relocate within a year, but an exhaustive search of more than a dozen sites in Hartford took far longer than expected. The 1920s-era Times building was chosen in 2013, but incorporating the stately facade into a 21st-century structure presented immediate engineering challenges.

State-funded costs also ballooned from an initial estimate of $70 million to $115 million and later to $140 million as a vision for a “neighborhood campus” started to take shape. The idea was for students to circulate among several academic buildings, visit restaurants and entertainment venues on Front Street and hang out at a Starbucks cafe at a new Barnes & Noble College campus bookstore.

Lauren Schneiderman / Hartford Courant

UConn sophomore Isabella Gorski gives a tour of Hartford to incoming freshmen. Students toured Front Street, where the main academic building is located, and other landmarks.

UConn sophomore Isabella Gorski gives a tour of Hartford to incoming freshmen. Students toured Front Street, where the main academic building is located, and other landmarks. (Lauren Schneiderman / Hartford Courant)

After 27 months of construction, the campus will open with course offerings during the day and evening similar to West Hartford: broad undergraduate programs and specialized graduate studies, such as the School of Social Work.

But downtown Hartford, Herbst said, will offer students wider access to internships and a gateway into the working world with corporations such as Travelers just steps away.

“It will be so much easier for companies, not-for-profits, places like the Hartford Stage, The Bushnell to get our interns because they can walk there,” Herbst said. “There’s that part of the knowledge economy connecting future employers and people who need an educated workforce with the actual student body.”

UConn is close to an agreement with the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art in Hartford to place its graduate arts management offices in the museum. The master’s program is aimed at students who want to become curators and museum directors.

Tom Loughman, the Wadsworth’s director and chief executive, said the arrangement fits well with one of the museum’s founding missions — to educate students, starting with preschoolers and numbering 14,000 school-age visitors a year.

“Our own work will be enriched by UConn’s presence and the spirit of deepening on another dimension of learning,” Loughman said.

Our own work will be enriched by UConn’s presence and the spirit of deepening on another dimension of learning.— Tom Loughman, Director and Chief Executive, Wadsworth Atheneum

The campus does not include dormitories and, at least initially, there was some interest from the university in reserving new apartments downtown for students.

But Herbst said rental rates are “a little high” for the average student, although “I am always surprised what students will pay to be proximate to campus.”

Herbst said she hopes that developers eventually will build rentals in Hartford affordable to students. Dorms will open this year at UConn’s Stamford campus; and in Waterbury, a private developer is building apartments near the campus aimed at students.

Catering to Students

With the arrival of students fast approaching, several downtown restaurants have been taking steps to get ready.

On Main Street, The Kitchen at Hartford Public Library — where UConn will have classrooms and other space — has added two more coolers, another cash register, additional coffee dispensers and more seating. The Kitchen will be now be open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday until 8 p.m.

Renovations were underway in early August at The Kitchen at the Hartford Public Library in preparation for an influx of students and faculty at the new UConn downtown campus. The Kitchen and other restaurants on Front Street are renovating to attract students and faculty.

Renovations were underway in early August at The Kitchen at the Hartford Public Library in preparation for an influx of students and faculty at the new UConn downtown campus. The Kitchen and other restaurants on Front Street are renovating to attract students and faculty. (Lauren Schneiderman / Hartford Courant)

At the Front Street Bistro — part of Spotlight Theatres — the owners are investing $50,000 in renovations, tailored specifically to the college students, Trina Gallo, the general manager, said.

The dining room will get new floors and carpets. A bank of booths is being torn out and replaced with movable furniture. And nearly two-dozen electrical outlets will be added for plugging in phones, tablets and computers.

“So, it’s going to be more of a study hall for them,” Gallo said. “If students are coming in a big group, and they want to do a big study group, tables can be pulled together or apart as needed.”

Front Street Bistro also will serve breakfast for the first time since it opened five years ago. Herbst said there are at least a half-dozen food options within easy walking distance priced within a student’s budget, including Qdoba, Subway and Panera.

“Occasionally, I could see students going to Arch Street, Bear’s,” Herbst said. “They’re not going to the Capital Grille.”

A growing number of local restaurants and entertainment venues will be accepting “Husky Bucks,” a debit-like card that can be used on or off campus.

Lauren Schneiderman / Hartford Courant

Ellen Pikora of Newington unpacks books in the new Barnes & Noble College on Front Street in downtown Hartford. The Barnes & Noble will open on the first floor of the Front Street Lofts and also feature a 2,200-square-foot Starbucks and a 'grab-and-go' food market.

Ellen Pikora of Newington unpacks books in the new Barnes & Noble College on Front Street in downtown Hartford. The Barnes & Noble will open on the first floor of the Front Street Lofts and also feature a 2,200-square-foot Starbucks and a 'grab-and-go' food market. (Lauren Schneiderman / Hartford Courant)

Storefront space in the Times Building also is starting to lease, the first to a local deli and convenience store, which should open this winter, according to Front Street developer HB Nitkin Group, of Greenwich.

Some eateries are looking to UConn’s opening with anticipation, but they also are waiting to first gauge customer traffic before making dramatic changes.

“We’re hoping that things pick up again and the city starts to come back again,” Sonia Tedford, co-owner of Max Bibo’s on Main, said. “We’ve been looking forward to [UConn] since they started. So, it’ll be great to see.”

A New Image for Hartford

This summer, students flooded the downtown for a series of orientations with tours of the city. The gatherings were held at Spotlight as crews worked to finish construction on campus.

New UConn students attending the downtown Hartford campus react after a orientation tour showing them the outside of the new buildings and what downtown Hartford has to offer.

New UConn students attending the downtown Hartford campus react after a orientation tour showing them the outside of the new buildings and what downtown Hartford has to offer.

On a recent tour, a group of students snaked through downtown streets, peering up at tall buildings, greeting food vendors and gazing in shop windows.

“I’m pretty excited,” John Buckley, 18, of Simsbury, said. “I’ve been in the area for a while, so I know the city pretty well already and it seems like it should be fun. It’s a new building, so it’s going to be a nice environment to learn and just keep my studies going.

“I would be more uncomfortable with New York City or some bigger city. Hartford’s not that big, so it’s not too intimidating.”

Jacob Meaney said his mother had concerns about him coming to Hartford, but he has “no fear” about it.

“I grew up in the suburbs, in Wallingford — nice town, nothing ever happens,” Meaney, 18, said. “So she was just concerned about me coming to Hartford all alone. She doesn’t want me walking around alone because of the higher crime rate and stuff like that, but I was telling her I feel pretty confident.

“I have no fear. There are a lot of people in the city. I’m sure I can be one of them.”

For students who grew up in Hartford, the university’s presence offers fresh opportunity and enhances the city’s image.

“Especially since there’s a negative outlook on Hartford itself, I think bringing UConn to downtown Hartford is a very positive thing,” said Tireice Schand, 18, who lives in the North End. “I think that it makes a lot more kids who grew up in my area — they can see college life and maybe later on decide they want to go to college.”

Jonathan Barnes, who grew up on Capen Street, said he sees the new campus as “a good step to urbanizing and modernizing a community of Hartford.”

“I live in one of the poorest communities within Hartford, and just to see that this area’s booming in terms of industry and firms and colleges — it’s one step to better our community and to give back to our youth,” said Barnes, 19.

Parking Worries

The Capital Region Development Authority has issued 2,500 key cards for students and faculty. There are 760 parking spaces spread out among the convention center, the science center and the Front Street North Garage set aside, but not specifically marked, for students and faculty.

“If I’m taking night classes I don’t want to have to walk … as far as safety, you just never know,” said Jazmyn Matos of Colchester. “During the day I think it’s pretty fine because everyone’s commuting, but if I have to take, say, a 7 o’clock at night class I don’t feel comfortable walking, so I’ll probably park at the garage more nearby.”

Lauren Schneiderman / Hartford Courant

UConn Hartford incoming freshmen take a break beneath Stegosaurus, the sculpture at the Alfred E. Burr Mall on the south side of the Wadsworth Atheneum during a tour of Hartford given by UConn sophomore Isabella Gorski, right.

UConn Hartford incoming freshmen take a break beneath Stegosaurus, the sculpture at the Alfred E. Burr Mall on the south side of the Wadsworth Atheneum during a tour of Hartford given by UConn sophomore Isabella Gorski, right. (Lauren Schneiderman / Hartford Courant)

Michael W. Freimuth, the authority’s executive director, said students and faculty should have no trouble finding parking because 3,700 spaces spread across four garages in the Adriaen’s Landing area generally average 50 percent occupancy.

However, there are a half-dozen days throughout the year when events such as the annual flower show fill the garages to capacity, Freimuth said.

“On those days, students would be provided a shuttle from an off-site parking location,” Freimuth said.

He added: “The reality is the students aren’t going to be here all at once. They will be here over staggered hours, different days, some in the evenings, others part time. So there isn’t going to be an onslaught of 2,500 cars.”

The parking plan also calls for UConn to run a shuttle bus in a continuous loop from 6 to 10 p.m., Monday through Thursday, with stops at the Times building, the science center and the convention center.

Some of the increased demand for parking may be eased by students taking the bus to the campus, Freimuth said.

This fall, UConn students in Hartford and three other UConn campuses can obtain a “U-Pass CT” through the state Department of Transportation. The pass, funded by student transportation fees, allows unlimited rides within Connecticut on local and express buses, CTfastrak, Shore Line East and others.

Even so, commuters should be prepared for a shake-out period as new traffic patterns evolve, Freimuth said.

“I think there is going to be a little ‘bump and grind’ as we get going with this,” Freimuth said.